The quest for the perfect watermelon is a summer tradition, synonymous with the pursuit of the sweetest, juiciest fruit to grace picnics and gatherings. This guide distills the essence of selecting a watermelon that promises to be both ripe and sweet, ensuring your summer days are filled with the refreshing taste of this beloved fruit.
Understanding Watermelon Ripeness
The journey to finding the perfect watermelon begins with an examination of the stem. A brown stem signifies a watermelon that ripened naturally on the vine, absorbing the sun’s warmth and the soil’s nutrients until it reached peak maturity. In contrast, a green stem indicates a premature pick, where the fruit was plucked before its time, leaving its potential sweetness untapped.
The Significance of the Yellow Spot
A key indicator of a watermelon’s ripeness is the presence of a yellow spot. This spot, often found on the belly of the fruit, tells a story of the watermelon’s time basking in the sun. A pronounced yellow spot is a testament to the watermelon’s adequate sun exposure, contributing to its ripeness. A faint white spot, or the absence of one, suggests a lack of sunbathing, leading to a less ripe fruit.
Assessing Firmness and Sound
The texture and sound of a watermelon provide critical clues to its internal state. Gently pressing on the watermelon should reveal a slight give, indicating ripeness. A watermelon that feels too hard and unyielding suggests it is underripe. Moreover, the sound a watermelon makes when tapped can reveal its water content—a hollow sound signifies a fruit bursting with water, while a dull sound may indicate a lack of juiciness.
Putting Theory into Practice
With these insights, the pursuit of the perfect watermelon becomes an informed search for specific traits: a brown stem, a prominent yellow spot, a slight give upon pressing, and a hollow sound when tapped. These indicators, when present together, promise a watermelon that is not only ripe but also abundantly sweet and juicy.
Upon bringing your selected watermelon home, the moment of truth arrives as you cut into the fruit. A ripe watermelon will reveal a deep red flesh, an indicator of its concentrated sweetness. The texture will be crisp, yet tender, filled with succulent juices that confirm its ripe status. The taste test is the final verification, where the sweetness of the watermelon fulfills the promise of a meticulously selected fruit.
Enjoying the Fruits of Your Labor
Selecting the perfect watermelon is an art form that combines observation, touch, and sound. The reward for this careful selection process is a watermelon that enhances summer meals and gatherings with its optimal sweetness and hydration. Whether enjoyed in slices, cubes, or as part of a refreshing salad, the perfect watermelon stands as a testament to the joy of summer eating.
The journey to finding the perfect watermelon is marked by attention to detail and an appreciation for the subtle cues nature provides. By following these guidelines, you can elevate your watermelon selection process, ensuring that each fruit you bring home meets the criteria for ripeness and sweetness. Embrace the challenge, and let the quest for the perfect watermelon become a cherished summer ritual.
Florida man arrested for vulgar sticker on truck
A Florida man was arrested for displaying an obscene bumper sticker on the back of his truck, one that either expressed his sexual preferences, or his love for a four-legged animal.
After Dillon Shane Webb was told the sticker was “derogatory,” he claimed his freedom of expression was violated, and the deputy’s office asked if he was using his free speech to express his desire of “eating a donkey.”
Keep reading to learn why Webb was arrested over a bumper sticker!
In 2019, a Columbia County sheriff’s deputy was driving behind a pickup truck when he noticed a vulgar sticker plastered on the middle of the rear window.
Dashcam footage shows Deputy Travis English stopping his cruiser in a parking lot behind the brown pickup, operated by Dillon Shane Webb, 23, with the bumper sticker in clear view.
The letters on the sticker – printed in bold white – reads, “I EAT A**.”
In the video, the deputy approaches the passenger side of the truck and after saying, “hello gentleman,” he explains that he pulled the car over due to “the derogatory sticker” displayed on the back of his truck.
In Florida, law prohibits “any sticker, decal emblem or other device attached to a motor vehicle containing obscene descriptions, photographs or depictions.”
“How’s it derogatory?” Webb asks from inside the car.
The officer replies, “How’s it not derogatory?”
“Some 10-year-old kid sitting in the passenger seat of his momma’s vehicle looks over and sees ‘I eat a**’ and asks his mom what it means,” English says. “How is she going to explain that?”
Sniping back, the driver provides the wrong answer: “That’s the parent’s job, not my job,” Webb says before he’s asked to present his driver’s license and registration.
After stepping out of the vehicle, Webb is searched, and the deputy tells him the sticker is a “misdemeanor violation of Florida’s obscene materials law.”
“I have four kids…if my 6-year-old was to look at me and like, ‘dad what does I eat a** mean?…he’s curious…and the way [you] handled this situation, I’m not pleased with,” English said before offering Webb the opportunity to explain his sticker to the court system.
Next, the deputy suggests Webb remove one of the letters from the word “A**” to read “AS.” But Webb refused, citing his constitutional right to free speech.
A few minutes later, things take a nasty turn for Webb.
After confirming with his supervisor that he had reasonable rights within the law, English steps out of his cruiser and approaches Webb, who’s leaning against his car, looking at his cellphone.
“All right Mr. Webb. Place your hands behind your back,” Webb is told. When he asks “why?” he learns “because you’re going to jail.”
Asking “for what?” English explains that he was given “the option to take that off” the window, but he “refused.”
He was then arrested and charged with the additional offense of “resisting an officer without violence.”
‘Perverted mind’
“They’re just words,” Webb later told First Coast News. “If that’s how they feel, if they have a perverted mind, that’s on them.”
But according to Sergeant Murray Smith of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, it wasn’t just the words on the sticker that Deputy English determined was illegal.
“It was the obscene phrase depicting what the deputy thought was a sexual act, which is obscene by definition,” said Smith. “What would a reasonable citizen think? Is the guy eating a donkey or is he doing a sexual act?”
The incident captured the attention of a lot of social media users, the majority who defended Webb.
“So what if he eats donkey. What’s the big deal?” asks one netizen. Another, referring to English speaking of his child’s potential reaction to the sticker, says, “Since when are a cop’s feelings deserving of an arrest?”
“I live here and as soon as we heard he got arrested we all went and got the sticker and put it on [our] trucks,” pens a third.
Another adds, “He better keep his kids off the internet. They will see far worse than this.”
The State Attorney’s Office cited the First Amendment and the charges against Webb were dropped. Later, Webb sued for alleged violations of his First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights, but U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard of the Middle District of Florida ruled that the arrest was “arguably justified under Florida’s obscenity law,” giving the officer and his supervisor “qualified immunity,” which means they are protected from the lawsuit.
This case underscores the ongoing debate in the U.S. over free speech and its boundaries, especially around expressions some might find offensive or derogatory. It also reflects how the First Amendment remains a contentious issue, with some insisting their right to free expression is under threat, while others argue for consideration that certain messages will have on the population.
What are your thoughts on this story? Please share your thoughts with us and then share it with your friends so we can get the conversation going!
Leave a Reply